BOURBONNAIS — Just because Lamarr Houston couldn’t practice, doesn’t mean he wasn’t around.
“It’s not like I was (bleeping) missing,” the outside linebacker said Thursday after the Bears’ first training camp practice, to a roar of laughter. “It’s not like I was off the face of the universe.
“I was still there in OTAs. Still in meetings. Still learning the defense. I just haven’t been able to practice. So no, I don’t feel behind at all.”
Houston did miss the second half of last season, after infamously tearing his right ACL while celebrating his first sack of the season in garbage time of a loss to the Patriots.
He returned to the field for the first time Thursday, although he was held out of some drills.
Afterward, he said he felt “100 percent recovered” and “actually lot better than I was before the surgery.”
How he fits in Vic Fangio’s new 3-4 scheme is another question, but Houston doesn’t seem too concerned. He likened it to the Raiders’ hybrid system, in which he recorded six sacks in 2013 before signing a five-year, $35 million deal with the Bears.
“It’s similar, but a little different, but pretty similar for the outside linebacker,” he said. “For what we were doing there and what we’re doing here.”
Saying he excited to reprise his Raiders role, Houston argued that he’s a good fit as a 3-4 outside linebacker.
“I believe I’m solid at linebacker,” he said. “I’m kind of small to be a defensive end.”
Coach John Fox said edge rush skillsets are the same for outside linebackers and defensive ends. The key, he said, is for Houston to feel comfortable with his repaired knee.
“I think so much of that is just confidence,” he said. “I went through it with a couple guys last year (in Denver) with (linebacker) Von Miller and (cornerback) Chris Harris that came off (torn) ACLs, that had Pro Bowl seasons.
“And I think that is a lot about confidence. And each individual guy developing that progression back from injury, as well as the position switch.”
Vowing to slowly ramp up his work, Houston knows he’s not in midseason form.
But getting on the field Thursday was the latest step in regaining that confidence.
“It meant a lot, man,” Houston said. “Being able to feel the grass and going through drills with teammates and being out there with them, it felt really good.”
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Email: pfinley@suntimes.com
